Fellows Hymowitz Rice, PLLC, a personal injury law firm based in New City, New York, is reaffirming its commitment to Rockland County as it marks 45 years of representing people hurt in the Hudson Valley. The firm is rebuilding its website and putting out more plain-language information so local residents can understand their rights after an injury before they ever pick up the phone.
The firm has represented Rockland families since 1981. Its lawyers handle all types of accidents: truck accident cases, serious car accident injuries, construction accidents (ladder falls, scaffold injuries, Labor Law 200, 240 and 241(6)), pedestrian accidents, wrongful death claims, dog bites, slip and fall injuries, trip and fall injuries, medical malpractice, and nursing home neglect from its main office on South Main Street in New City. The firm also has offices in the Bronx and White Plains.
Managing partner Robert L. Fellows served as president of the Rockland County Bar Association from 2022 to 2024. He led the Rockland Center for the Arts as president from 2009 to 2016 and sat on the board of the Rockland Community Foundation from 2011 to 2019. In 2023, Fellows received the County of Rockland Distinguished Service Award and the first Hon. Harriet Cornell Award for Excellence. He and his wife, Arlene R. Rodgers, were named Philanthropists of the Year by the Rockland Development Council in 2019.
Each year, the firm funds scholarships for two Rockland Community College students. It also supports the Rockland Conservatory of Music, United Hospice of Rockland, Gay Pride Rockland and the Center for Safety and Change. That local focus carries into the firm's legal work. After a fire forced residents out of the Nyack Plaza Apartments, the firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of displaced tenants.
Most people who call a personal injury lawyer have never needed one before. They are dealing with medical bills, missed work and calls from insurance adjusters, often all in the same week. The firm's new marketing work is meant to answer their first questions in plain terms, in English and in Spanish, and to make it easier to reach a lawyer who knows Rockland's courts.
Partners Steven R. Hymowitz and Matthew F. Rice handle cases alongside Fellows. All three partners were named 2026 Top Lawyers by Hudson Valley Magazine and have been selected to the Super Lawyers list several years running. Fellows, Hymowitz and Rice are all AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Rice is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum.
The firm's past results include an $8.365 million recovery for the family of a 17-year-old hurt in a crash on an icy stretch of the Van Wyck Expressway, $4.3 million for a medical malpractice action, a $2.5 million construction accident recovery, a $2.25 million pedestrian accident recovery and many more. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.
The firm offers free consultations and handles injury cases on a contingency fee basis. It also offers reduced retainer fees to police officers, firefighters, first responders and members of the military. Spanish-speaking staff are available, and a Spanish version of the website is at pilaw.com/es.
